PINK
by L. Monster
Summary: I've always liked Tatsuha very much. I decided for once, he should have a real nice day. A peek into the Uesugi household one particularly special Monday. An unexpected arrival and family secrets revealed. Regular pairings. A little fluffy.
1. Chapter 1

Hello again!

This started out as a one shot but as i really got into the story I couldn't manage to stop, so I've turned this into a several short chapters fic.  
It's still just one day in the life of Tatsuha, yay for Tatsuha!

Thanks to my wonderful bright new shiny beta Emma who did an amazing job editing this little story!  
A round of applause and a lifetime supply of cyber strawberry pocky for you, Emma! Thanks for everything!

As usual, I hereby declare that I own nothing!

PINK  
Chapter 1

-

Tatsuha LOVED Mondays.

This Monday morning, however, he was in a bad mood. He grumbled for the fifth time that day. It was only 6 am, but his bad mood had nothing to do with waking up early; he hated being sent to run his father's errands like a common helper. He was possibly the most mature teen in Japan thanks to his responsibilities as a Buddhist monk. He had worked his butt off to make up for the 'daughter' and the 'writer' in the family who decided to have nothing to do with temple duties. He at least expected some consideration for all the extra work he was putting in.

Another grumble. Like that would ever happen.

As he walked past the neighbourhood's post office, the clerk inside suddenly called his name.

"Uesugi-san! Uesugi-san!" The man came running out holding a neatly wrapped brown paper package. "Such a coincidence, we just received this addressed to you. I recognised your name although the address is all blotchy. It would save me the trip if you'd take it with you now that you're here!"

Tatsuha suddenly remembered: he had commanded this months ago and spent a small fortune on it. It had arrived earlier than expected. He couldn't have had it delivered to his house, otherwise his father would have gone berserk and torched it. That's why he'd had it addressed to the nearest post office instead, with clear instructions to contact him and to not have it sent to the temple. Stupid clerk was going to deliver it himself. The man probably had a crush on him.

The dark haired monk flashed him an award-winning smile and took the package off his hands.

"Thank you, Yamada-san," he responded with a wink.

"Anytime, Uesugi-san!" the man cooed. "Have a nice week!"

Tatsuha smirked. Yeah, he wants me, he thought.

This was a nice turn of events. Suddenly his bad mood lifted and he looked forward to returning home and unwrapping this baby.

Several hours later Tatsuha was walking back into the temple. As he took off his shoes he prayed to all the pagan gods he could think of that his father wasn't anywhere near the entrance. He tip-toed up the stairs, ninja style, and when he finally entered his room he slid the door shut behind him.

He sat on the windowsill and summoned his improvised tin-foil ashtray and cigarettes from a camouflaged pouch hanging from the tree branch closest to the house. As he inhaled the nicotine he so dearly craved, he gingerly placed the package on his lap, licking his lips in anticipation.

"I can't wait to read this one," he mumbled, cigarette dangling from his lips and fingers running up and down the paper wrapper. He undid the cord with one hand and tore off the paper with the other. A beautiful hard-cover limited edition of Yuki Eiri's new novel stared back at him teasingly.

"Pink." The dark haired monk read the title out loud. "Aww, how sentimental," he mocked, and rolled his eyes. The cover was completely white and the title was printed in a darker shade of cream. It looked quite nice.

Cigarettes, porn and his brother's novels were three forbidden things in the Uesugi household. Three things he thoroughly enjoyed. As for his brother's books, he wouldn't be caught dead reading them but he had to admit, Aniki was a pretty damn good writer. Tatsuha had tried writing before, back in the days when he desperately tried to imitate everything his brother did, but that only resulted in bad yaoi fan fiction that nobody ever clicked on.

Unable to restrain himself any longer, he flipped the book open to the first page.

He raised an eyebrow at what first caught his eye. "A dedication? Well, that's a first."

''For my biggest fan.''

Tatsuha snickered. Of all possible things he could write, he went for that? Aniki had tiny balls when it came to this. Like anybody would wonder who 'his biggest fan' was. He might as well have written 'For Shindou Shuichi of BAD LUCK, the pink haired idiot better known as my one and only'. Bunch of sappy dorks.

"I'm sure Shuichi will die over it, though," he said out loud, certain nobody could hear him.

He glanced at his wristwatch and smiled. Mondays were always slow. They were lucky if only a handful of people showed up in the morning. His eyes twinkled. It was already one pm. He had the whole afternoon to dig into the novel in the sanctuary of his bedroom without interruptions. This was painting to be a great day after all. He braced himself and began reading, knowing that his brother's novels usually tended to turn him into a sappy dork himself.

-


	2. Chapter 2

CH. 2

Having skipped lunch that day, Tatsuha was starving by six o'clock.

Another thing about Mondays at the Uesugi household, because it was the least busy day of the week, most of the hired help usually took the day off. That included the cook. Mondays were pretty much fasting days if you couldn't cook your own food. The Uesugi patriarch fasted every Monday. He had sermoned his children ever since they could remember about the importance of fasting, but the three Uesugi kids always knew it was because he couldn't cook to save his life.

Tatsuha was a whole different thing. Just like his older siblings, he had a major sweet tooth and a knack for cooking. He figured they had gotten it from their mother. To him, an opportunity to cook meant an opportunity to indulge, taking advantage of the fact that his father wouldn't be caught dead in that part of the house on Mondays.

A few years back he had found an old cooking book in the storage area of the house. The binding was all worn out but it was otherwise well kept. It had belonged to his mother, it was scribbled all over and he immediately recognised her handwriting from old letters. 'The Art of French Baking', it was called. He had never shared his little treasure with anyone, even though he knew his sister would pay a good amount of money to possess it. As for his brother…well, he didn't think he would care. He was unsure what his father's reaction would be but he decided he didn't want to find out, just in case. Luckily it had very few pictures and it was all in English, a language his father had only ever heard of.

He had barely gone through a third of the novel when he decided to take a break and head down to the kitchen for his weekly culinary recreation. He stashed his vice back into the pouch and hid his brother's novel in his dirty laundry basket before taking out his mother's cooking book from under the futon.

The house was completely deserted as expected; his father was probably in the temple trying to silence the growls of his stomach. Tatsuha smirked at the thought. _Serves him right, the old man_, he thought. There was no reason to sneak around anymore so he started to whistle a random tune as he reached the kitchen, putting the book down on the counter and flipping it open.

"Done it, done this one too. Done this one as well. Haven't got all the ingredients. Did that one last week…" he mumbled while running a finger down the index.

"Ah, this one looks appropriate!" He quickly turned to page 243.

"Fraisier," he began reading out loud, "Otherwise known as strawberry shortcake, the perfect way to welcome flower blossom season after the cold belated winter. An irresistible treat to cure your sweet tooth." He licked his lips as he read on to the ingredients to make sure he had everything he needed, unaware of the fact that had his brother's novel not been called 'Pink' he wouldn't have gone for strawberries that night.

"Strawberries, right. Got it, got it, no problem, hmm, I think I still have a bit of that left…agh, Mother, why'd you have to scribble with a fucking pencil, this is impossible to read…" he whispered as he bent closer to the page. "Eh? Did you write 'add coconut milk'? That's weird, but I trust you," he finished.

Her notes usually improved the recipe; he had already tested both the original and her method for several desserts and her version was always better. As he reached the bottom of the page, paying special attention to the scribbles, he reached the last note written in ink.

"Disaster, bad idea. Smiley face." It wasn't the regular smiley face, it was the words, neatly written with a point in the end. _What the fuck_, he thought. It looked delicious, what could possibly be so bad about it?

Tatsuha had been very young when their mother had passed, he barely remembered her at all. Most of his memories about her, he was sure, were built around what he had heard from others. He had, by consequence, tried to rebuild her in his mind through the scribbles in the cook book. It amused him to no end whenever he found a scribble that gave away the tiniest hint of her odd personality. This particular one was a rare find. Smiley face? _What. The. Fuck_.

His stomach gave a nasty growl. _Alright_, he thought, _food first and questions later_.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

-

"Tea or coffee?" Tatsuha wondered out loud. It was almost 9 pm but once the boy had started mixing ingredients, his hunger didn't seem that pressing anymore. Besides, he had been snacking on strawberries all the while.

Except for the sponge cake base, the fraisier didn't need baking. The dessert was already plated and setting while he worked on the final touches. His mother had recommended coating it with a thin layer of amaretto and white chocolate sauce, along with the mandatory slices of fresh strawberries. Unorthodox, but as he'd said earlier, he trusted her instructions and went with it.

"Pink," he suddenly murmured. Standing by the stove, wearing his favourite white apron, he gently stirred the sauce, waiting for it to thicken. Aniki had outdone himself this time, he thought as he turned off the fire. It definitely wasn't only his good looks that boosted his popularity; it was real quality work he put out there.

Most of the time.

He remembered that awful novel about the lost puppy. Sure, Aniki had claimed he knew it sucked and insisted he was just trying to add some variety to his work, but Tatsuha knew better. "Come Back", that awful novel with that awfully transparent title had been written around the time Shuichi was away on his first world tour. The manuscript must have spooked the hell out of his editor too because an unusually large picture of his brother had been printed on the back of the cover, no doubt hoping to boost the sales. Critics agreed.

"Pink," however… This particular novel was, so far, nothing short of splendid. Might even be his best work to date.

Without paying special attention to what he was doing and while waiting for the sauce to cool down, Tatsuha scooped some up and poured it into a small cup, adding a few drops of pink food colouring to it.

The story began with the arrival of a strange traveler to a mountain village. Desperately seeking refuge, he stumbles upon the cottage of a blind old man. As the story progressed we find out the old man is dying, he has no memories of his past and is alone in the world. The young traveler takes pity on him and decides to stay by his side until the end, telling him stories for him to pretend they are his. That way he wouldn't die without memories of his youth, his loves, his travels. Where the word 'pink' came into place, he didn't know just yet.

Not exactly your typical romance story, but it was way too early to tell. Aniki had a tendency to add an earth-shattering twist towards the end. He didn't particularly like fluff-packed stories anyways. And the traveler's tales were so imaginative and full of life that for the first time, Tatsuha hoped they turned this one into a movie.

The white chocolate sauce had cooled down long enough and the dark-haired monk gently spread it over the top of the cake, careful to only coat the flat top so the strawberries on the side would show.

"Tea or coffee, then?" he asked himself out loud once more, carefully arranging the slices of strawberry over the white coating. "Hmm," he sighed. "Beer would be nice." There was no beer in the house. On the scarce occasions his father left the temple, or every other Monday, he would use his fake ID to buy a six pack and sneak it into his room. He had completely forgotten to do so today because of the arrival of his brother's new novel.

He scooped up the pink frosting into a decorating bag with a medium pointy tip.

"I could always go buy some now," he added.

As a monk, he had a reputation to maintain. Other than the people who knew him best, everyone else thought very highly of him. He knew how to act the way people expected him to, and true to the Uesugi genes, he had a natural charm that appealed to everyone. He had upheld the name Uesugi as was expected of him. That didn't mean, of course, that he hadn't climbed out the window after hours every now and then to pay night visits to some of the lovelier Buddhists in the area, regardless of age or gender. He smirked at the thought. Not once had he been caught. Tonight, though, he had a feeling he shouldn't go out on a beer run.

"There," he said, stepping back to better appreciate his work.

Tatsuha Uesugi might not be as talented a writer as his older brother, but he sure had nice handwriting.

"Happy 20th Birthday, Tatsuha", read the pink frosting scribbled across the white icing.

He put a hand to his chin and squinted. "Hmm." Picking up the decorating bag once more, he added a few words.

"Smiley Face," he read out loud as he wrote. There, that looks about right, he thought.

He cut himself a large slice from where his name was written and began eating it out of his hand. No need to stand on ceremony when it was only him. Usually he would return to his room, cake in hand, but today he felt like sitting on the little garden porch. To an onlooker it might have seemed sad, almost pitiful to bake your own birthday cake and eat it on your own. This wasn't Tatsuha's case. He didn't celebrate his birthday to begin with, and writing on the cake had been a mere impulse. He baked cakes every Monday so this wasn't a birthday cake as far as he was concerned. And his birthday wasn't until tomorrow. He didn't feel the slightest bit sentimental.

Well, almost. That newly discovered scribble on his mother's cook book and his brother's fascinating new novel had stirred something up inside of him. It felt kinda nice.

But before he had even swallowed his second bite, something quite unexpected happened. A few lights around the house's driveway entrance were suddenly lit, the electric gates opened and a black car drove in. Tatsuha raised an eyebrow the way only a Uesugi could. What the hell is he doing here? That's what I want to know, he thought to himself.

Yuki Eiri walked out of his car and headed towards the house. He was dangling a plastic bag from his right hand while holding his phone up to his ear with his left.

"Aniki?" he stammered as the tall blonde man reached the wooden platform and took off his shoes.

"Yeah, well I just got here, didn't I?" he spoke, slipping into a pair of wooden sandals from the neatly lined up selection at the edge of the porch. "Give me a fucking second will you?" he spoke into the phone. He sounded irritated. But then again, when did he not? He swung the plastic bag towards his brother and held out his phone. "For you," he grumbled.

Barely able to catch the heavy bag with his elbows and paying little attention to its contents, Tatsuha outstretched his free arm to take the little black phone from his brother's hand.

"Ha-hai?" he stammered yet again, completely dumbfounded.

Eiri sat down next to him and snatched the half bitten piece of strawberry shortcake from the young monk.

"Happy birthday, little brother," spoke the eldest Uesugi from the other end. "Did you get my present?"

Tatsuha recovered from the shock and turned to inspect the contents of the plastic bag, assuming that's what his sister meant. Inside he found a six pack of beer and a silver cigarette case with a T engraved on the front.

"The case is from me, Eiri probably got you beer. I guess I can't stop you anymore from becoming a chain-smoking raging alcoholic like that stubborn bastard of a brother you have, now that you're legal. So I figured you'd appreciate an official acknowledgement."

The youngest Uesugi couldn't manage a reply.

"Ahh…" Mika sighed, "Do me a favour, will ya?" she asked.

Tatsuha nodded, unaware that his sister couldn't see him.

"Look at Eiri for a second."

Unsure he had heard well, Tatsuha turned his gaze towards his brother and was immediately blinded by a white flash.

"Did he do it?" she asked impatiently.

"What the- if you mean half blinded me to death! Yes he fucking did it!" the young monk replied as he rubbed his eyes, "What the hell Mika!?"

"I couldn't be there tonight and I wanted to see your face. I can't believe he actually did it! My nagging must be getting better." She laughed heartily.

"Getting worse, you mean," responded the boy.

"Whatever," she cut him off, as usual. "Just really try not to drink too much tonight."

Tatsuha didn't quite know how to feel at the moment. Except for eyesore and hungry. He watched as his brother pocketed the digital camera and stood up, undoubtedly heading for the kitchen.

"Ahh… thank, you? I guess?" He wondered what father would think about this unexpected turn of events. He would probably be shocked at his brother's visit the most. Regarding the presents, he figured he'd have to stash the case in his secret pouch and finish the beer before long. As if she had read his thoughts, Mika spoke again.

"I've already talked to father, he understands you're of age now. No need to hide your vices anymore, baby bro," she said teasingly. "Just enjoy your damn birthday."

"Technically it's tomorrow."

"Whatever."

Tatsuha scoffed.

"Alright, nice talking to you then. Don't get too wasted tonight, you're still on duty tomorrow."

"Yeah, sure. Hey!" he quickly added before his sister hung up, "Thanks again."

The blonde returned shortly after, holding the plate with the entire cake and a knife. He sat back down next to his brother and set the treat directly in front of him, losing no time to cutting himself a giant slice.

Tatsuha didn't realise he was smiling as he took out two beers from the carton and threw one at his brother. Realising cutting him a slice was expecting way too much from the novelist, he took the knife and helped himself to an even larger slice. Eiri eyed him with contempt.

"It is my cake, you know."

Eiri downed his beer in one gulp and reached out for a second.

"And that is my bloody beer too, as far as I'm concerned," the monk teased, not really caring all that much.

"There's more in the trunk," answered the novelist between mouthfuls of cake. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath before helping himself to more cake. "You didn't think I'd come back to this damn temple, risking an apocalyptic fight with that crazy old man and not be prepared, did you?"

Aniki had a point. They ate in silence for a while, Tatsuha savouring his drink and Eiri wolfing down the cake.

"What the fuck did you add to it?" The older of the two suddenly broke the silence, licking his fingers.

"Coconut," replied the monk.

"Bold," mumbled the writer, "You could have made a bigger one, you know? I drive all the way down here and this is how you thank me." He cut himself another giant slice, devouring the word 'Birthday'.

Tatsuha laughed incredulously.

"Well I fucking didn't know you were coming, now did I? And besides, the size is perfect for one person."

Eiri mumbled something his brother didn't catch. Tatsuha laughed. He wasn't hungry anymore. Snatching up another bottle of beer he leaned back until his elbows touched the floor.

All of a sudden he had a brilliant idea. He jerked up straight and ran upstairs. The novelist barely noticed him, his attention completely captured by the slowly disappearing shortcake.

A few seconds after, Tatsuha returned with his pouch in one hand. Sitting back down, he took out his pack of cigarettes and began accommodating them into his brand new silver case. Damn, it looked nice. He made a mental note to return the favour one of these days. Oh well, why not start now?

"Go on, finish it," said the dark haired boy, pointing at the one last slice of cake remaining.

"I was going to," responded his brother. Quickly wolfing down the slice he was holding, he reached out for the last piece. Right before chugging it though, he turned to look at his brother, his smirk evident.

"You've finally learned to share, I see," he said, biting a large mouthful of his favourite treat.

"Meaning?" inquired Tatsuha while lighting a cigarette, unable to tear his gaze from his first birthday present ever.

"Last time we had this cake, I ate the whole thing down to the last bite, right off your spoon. You cried for days," chuckled Eiri. With that being said he devoured the last bit of cake and licked his fingers clean.

Tatsuha's cigarette fell off his lips. He felt as though he had been slapped.

"Aniki, can I show you something and you promise to never, ever tell Mika about it?" he asked his brother, barely even moving his lips as he spoke.

"If your junk itches you should go to a doctor, not a writer," teased the older of the two, taking a sip of beer.

As if he hadn't heard his brother's cheeky reply, Tatsuha ran back inside towards the kitchen, tripping as he went. When he came back he was holding his mother's cook book opened to page 243. Eiri looked up, Uesugi eyebrow raised.

Tatsuha knelt by his brother's side, carefully placing the book on the floor.

Eiri barely glanced down at it, uninterested. A second later he leaned in closer, then a little closer still. He put down his beer and flicked his cigarette butt towards the garden before actually picking up the book and holding it extremely close to his nose. He pulled back, then leaned close once more. It took him a couple more tries to finally give up, set the book down on his lap and reach into his inner pocket for his reading glasses.

Tatsuha held his pose, resting his butt on his heels, elbows pressed to his sides, both fists touching his chest.

"Hah." The writer chuckled. "That woman, seriously." He put the book back down on his lap and went for another sip of beer.

"What? What? Tell me!" demanded the younger of the two. "And don't hold your beer over the book!"

"Moron. Are you really going to lecture me now?" the novelist inquired teasingly, lighting another cigarette.

"Aniki, come on, it's my birthday!"

"Yeah, well, technically it's tomorrow. And when has that ever stopped me from doing whatever I want, including eating your entire birthday cake, again?"

Tatsuha thought hard for a second, putting the pieces together.

"You mean… last time she made this cake, it was my birthday?" he whispered. His brother nodded in agreement.

"I guess you were too young to remember, you must have been two or three."

The dark haired monk finally sat back down looking utterly stunned. So that's what the scribble meant. Disaster. Bad idea. Smiley face. She had prepared a strawberry shortcake for my second or third birthday, and Aniki had eaten the whole thing. I cried for days. Damn, who would let that happen? Tatsuha didn't realise he had been thinking out loud.

"Well, that woman didn't know the meaning of the word 'no'. She let us pretty much do whatever the hell we wanted. And that included playing dumb whenever Mika snuck out her window to meet up with Seguchi behind the temple for a smooch. Which kind of explains why Aneki didn't stop me either. Talk about itching junk, gross," Eiri explained.

Tatsuha scratched the back of his head momentarily. Suddenly he broke into a deafening laughter, startling his brother who glared at him with infinite annoyance. Deciding to leave his brother laughing on his own for a moment, Eiri headed back to the car. That six pack hadn't lasted long and he needed a refill.

-


	4. Chapter 4

PINK  
Chapter 4

-

The grandfather clock in the living room struck midnight and the two brothers raised their drinks to toast.

Something was off with the world tonight; it had been YEARS since the two Uesugi brothers had last spent that much time together, sharing laughs and drinking like unsupervised teens.

"So- so she actually chased him down the street… with a broom?" Tatsuha laughed incredulously, almost spilling his beer.

"All the way to the post office! Seguchi must have been sixteen or seventeen years old," Eiri explained, wiping away a tear between chortles. "Mika locked herself in her room for an entire week after the incident and every day at the same time, Mother would attempt to break down the door, threatening Aneki to force her into marrying the, I quote, 'good-for-nothing, second rate musician'," he finished, gasping for air. "Priceless."

Tatsuha howled with laughter, bending forward so his head touched the floor and slamming his fists manically.

Suddenly Eiri's phone started ringing. Judging from the ringtone, which was 'The Rage Beat', Tatsuha guessed who was calling.

"Hand me that, will you?" asked Eiri, outstretching his arm and taking deep breaths, evidently hoping to avoid his lover and realising he had been laughing madly not two seconds ago.

Tatsuha threw the little phone at him and his brother caught it in the air. Good reflexes for a man who had spent half his life sitting down in front of a computer.

"What?" answered the novelist, hiding the ghost of a chuckle under the mask of a cough. Impressive. "Stop- stop yelling like that-" He held his phone at arm's length for about 5 seconds.

"I didn't say I'd call you when I arrived," the novelist corrected. "I said I'll call you when I call you." He repeated the same technique of pulling the phone away from his ear. "Yeah, hang on." He handed the phone to his brother. "For you."

"Ah?" Tatsuha looked puzzled for a second before he realised it was his birthday and Shuichi probably wanted to congratulate him. He took the phone and smiled. "Yo, Shuichi! Long time!" he chuckled, taking a sip of beer.

"Nah, we're just drinking on the porch. Yeah, thanks. Nope, no girls as far as I can tell. No boys either, calm down Shu!" He laughed heartily. "No kidding? Hang on." Tatsuha pressed his hand over the phone and turned to his brother. "He says he sent me a present with you?" he asked, battling his eyelashes.

Eiri held his cigarette between his lips, raised a finger at his brother before reaching into his inner pocket. He pulled out a white envelope and handed it to the young monk.

"Yeah, guess he must have forgotten. He just handed it to me, hang on." Tatsuha inspected the envelope and failed to suppress a laugh. It was stapled from every possible side. Evidently, Shuichi hadn't wanted his lover to peek into its contents. "Gods, Shuichi, this had better be naked snapshots of you otherwise I really don't see the point of all the secrecy!" he teased and regretted it instantly, holding out the phone at arm's length for about 10 seconds until the singer was done yelling.

Eiri smirked, helping himself to another beer. He really had made the right choice by buying a ridiculous amount of beer before driving down to Kyoto. And there damn better not be naked snapshots inside that envelope; he'd regret having to murder his brother on his own birthday.

Tatsuha had to tear the envelope open in order to extract the sloppily folded letter inside.

"Yeah I'm fucking reading it, want me to do it out loud? Fine, fine I won't, just don't fucking yell like that!" he hissed, pressing the phone to his ear with his shoulder. "Alright, goddammit, still don't know what it is but thanks anyways. Yeah, bye," he finished as he threw the phone back to his brother. He failed to catch it this time and instead landed on his lap. Tatsuha smirked and Eiri scoffed.

"What now?" answered the novelist. He listened for a few seconds, then stood up and began walking towards the garden. In the meantime, Tatsuha started reading the little letter, his eyes devouring every word more and more anxiously.

"Unless you want me to drive back drunk and die in a car accident, *fade out* I suggest you take care of your own needs tonight, *fade out* take your middle finger and shove it up your own- *fade out*"

'Hey Tats! Happy Birthday! I think you must have received your real present this morning, unless I misspelled the address! I know you'll LOVE this one, I devoured it in one sitting! I'm going to have to attend Mizuki-san's nephew's birthday party next week but I managed to get a copy a whole week before the book hits the stores! Just in time for your birthday! Ah, by the way, I know you might think it's dedicated to me but really, it's dedicated to you! It took me YEARS to convince your brother to finally do it. He will never admit it, so don't try to pry it out of him! He told me he'd do it under the condition of not naming you in particular so he could deny it for the rest of his life! But he didn't say anything about me not being able to tell you! Yeah, we all know you love his books! He's kinda smug about it too! Don't you think the story's awesome?! I especially loved the twist when it turns out the traveller was the old man's great grandson and had been looking for him for years! And .God. When you find out all the stories he tells him were actually the old man's real memories! And when the title 'PINK' finally makes sense and it turns out-'

Tatsuha crumpled the letter into the smallest ball he could manage, put it in his mouth, took a giant gulp of beer and swallowed it.

"Shu-Shuichi-aghhh…. I… I- HATE YOU!" The monk raised a fist and cried revenge, immediately falling down to his side and sobbing like a madman.

Eiri returned to the porch to find his brother with arms and legs outstretched, face down on the floor over a puddle of tears.

"Believe it or not," Eiri said as he sat down and sipped on his abandoned beer from before, "That's exactly how I feel every time I read anything he writes. My sympathies. It's officially Tuesday now, Happy Birthday."

-

OWARI

This was fun, I'm really attached to this story! I think I might continue it in the future, who knows?  
Yay for Tatsuha!  
And once again, thanks to my LOOOOVELY beta Emma for all her hard work!


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